King of Prussia squash pro wins Philadelphia Open championship

KING OF PRUSSIA — Adrian Leanza plays probably the only sport that has been snubbed by the Olympic committee for being too fast, but for this mathematician-turned-squash-pro, the game is more about swiftness of mind than agility of the legs.

This past weekend, Leanza, 23, successfully repeated his title at the Philadelphia Squash Club’s 2013 Philadelphia Open, where he coasted through the opening rounds and defeated top Egypt-player, Mohamed Arafa, to earn his second trophy in as many years.

“My family came to support me, former classmates from school came to watch,” Leanza said. “It was great to have them on my side.”

Leanza, a self-taught player from Denver, picked up the sport at the age of eight while watching his father play in matches.

“It was the first sport I sport I played,” Leanza said. “It was incredibly fast and fun.”

At the age of eleven, Leanza started playing against people much older and twice his size. Despite having no kids his age to play against, the older guys didn’t tone it down or slow the pace. He was competing with local players at a high level whose intelligent play taught him more than to just rely on quick reflexes.

As he grew into adolescence, Leanza began to take the game more seriously, competing in junior tournaments that would allow him to improve and get on the radar of college recruits. In 2007, on scholarship he was invited to join the squash team at Brown University.

“I chose to come to the east coast, because there’s more of an opportunity to play,” Leanza said. “I knew the coach, and he knew that I worked hard.”

During his four years at Brown, studying chemistry and applied mathematics-economics, he became the #1 ranked player at the university and captain of the team, which ranks 12th in the country.

“After my final match at Brown, I immediately signed up with the Pro Squash Tour,” Leanza said. “I heard they were looking for college-age players, and I knew I wanted to compete professionally.”

In his first year, Leanza won the Philadelphia Open and was invited to the PST World Championship in Detroit. This season, Leanza has already won the Buffalo Wild Wings Open in September, and recently repeated as champion of the Philadelphia Open.

“My first round was the hardest,” Leanza said. “It was against a local pro from Russia—he had the crowd on his side.”

“I actually thought he had me after he won the first game and was up in the second, but there was a turning point and I was able to win.”

Leanza is a teaching pro at the Philadelphia Squash Club, where he coaches a junior program for youth squash players. While he went to school through a vigorous mathematical program, he said his true passion rests with teaching the youngsters.

He aims to continue to hone his skills and earn another invitation to the championship games, where he hopes to go further this year. And with fingers crossed is patiently awaiting the induction of squash into the Olympic Games, which he said with the help of new camera technology should make the blisteringly fast sport watchable for people on their televisions.

“I play in tournaments all over the east coast, and players usually peak around 29-years-old, so I’m just hoping to qualify again and go further.

In March, Leanza will put his skills to test in the Providence Open in Rhode Island.